25 Essential Retrofit Resources You Need in 2025
(Inspired by — and building on — the original Designing Buildings Wiki list)
Retrofit isn’t short of guides, strategies and toolkits. The problem? They’re scattered, inconsistent, and often buried in places no one finds. To cut through the noise, we’ve pulled together the resources every retrofit professional should have bookmarked in 2025.
This isn’t exhaustive — retrofit evolves too fast for that — but it’s the list we use in the Refurb & Retrofit newsroom when we need a credible reference at speed.
1. National Strategy & Organisations
- National Retrofit Hub (NRH)
- RISE Retrofit
- The Retrofit Academy CIC
- BE-ST (Scotland)
- Optimised Retrofit Wales
- Northern Ireland Housing Executive
- Supply Chain School (Retrofit)
2. Local Authority & Community Guides
Why reinvent the wheel? Councils have produced some of the most practical retrofit guides. Highlights:
- Bristol Solid Wall Insulation Guide
- Cornwall Housing Decarbonisation Strategy (Etude)
- Cambridge: Retrofitting Your Home
- Devon Retrofit Guide (FCB Studio)
- Saltaire Retrofit Reimagined
- Local Authority Domestic Retrofit Handbook (2023)
- Green Meadows: Insulation Guide
- Hertfordshire: Retrofitting Your House
- Carbon Trust: Decarbonising Heat in Lambeth
- City of London: Housing Net Zero Action Plan (Summary)
- Becontree Retrofit Guide (Be First)
- Heritage Building Retrofit Toolkit (City of London)
- Retrofit Social Housing: Practical Guide
- ESSA Retrofit Guide (Levitt Bernstein, Etude, Prewett Bizley)
- RBKC: Sustainably Retrofitting Your Home
3. Standards & Professional Guidance
- CIBSE: Retrofit Revisit (2024)
- RICS Residential Retrofit Standard (2024): Basis for Conclusions
- LETI: Climate Emergency Retrofit Guide
- NRH: Archetyping for Retrofit (Best Practice)
- NRH/Barclays: Retrofit Pattern Book
- CIOB: Technical Information Sheet — Retrofit of Buildings
- Historic Environment Scotland: Guide to Energy Retrofit of Traditional Buildings
- Historic England/Cadw/HES: Level 3 Award Handbook
4. Finance, Economics & Policy
- Delivering for Tenants (MEES & Outcomes)
- Barclays & NRH: Retrofit Pattern Book
- Commercial Retrofit Innovation Map (2025)
5. Technical Knowledge & Toolkits
- IBO: Details for Passive Houses — Renovation
- ACAN: Natural Materials Detail Library
- Energy Technologies Institute: UK Stock Archetypes
- Pebble Trust: Sustainable Renovation
- Understanding Existing Buildings: Five Studies (Fiona Cobb)
6. Case Studies & Exemplars
7. Thought Leadership
- Will Arnold: Hierarchy of Net Zero Design
- Scaling Low-Carbon Construction Materials
- CROSS Safety Report: Retrofit Risks
- Profile: Scott Boote
8. Blogs & Ongoing Resources
Final word: The sector moves fast, and resources go out of date quickly. This list builds on the original Designing Buildings Wiki but filters it through what’s actually useful in 2025.
Bookmark it. Share it. And if you’ve got a resource you think belongs here, drop us a line at editor@refurbandretrofit.com.